>> in the west bank city of bethlehem, a group of palestinians held a protest against obama's visit. they defaced a poster with his picture on it and drove over it with a car, as you see there. coming up later in the newscast, we'll highlight this weekend's cpack convention animated sarah palin and jeb bush with harsh words for the republican party. postal workers across san francisco this morning protesting their boss's decision to cut services. the forum starting with the postmaster's general decisions called into question. christie joins us live with all the details. christie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, jon. those protesters just wrapped up 15, 20 minutes ago. they really wanted to send a strong message to u.s. postmaster in san francisco about cuts to service and selling properties. we had a chance to speak with

patrick donahue. they have lost 70% of mail volume and can't sit back and do nothing. they gathered outside where he's speaking at a four-day convention about the mailing industry. this as the postal service with huge deficits, closing centers and eyeing the day when it stops saturday service until congress steps in. this is dismantling the postal service as we know it. he says the postal service really needs to keep up with technology. >> the postal service they want is to privatize the post office. one of the things they are aiming right now is to reduce from six-day to five-day delivery. later on they are going to try to privatize it. we don't want that. we cannot allow that to happen. >> with the economy improving, we're seeing the mail coming back a little bit slowly.

what we've lost is bill paying. people pay bills online. it's free, convenient. that won't come back. we've reacted in a responsible way. >> he said they never laid anyone off. they used buyouts and other methods to reduce manpower. they are looking into using smart phones, package delivery options, testing a system where say you order by 9:00 a.m. and get package delivered by noon, he says the postal will be viable for the next 10 years. reporting live, christie smith. a memorial growing in santa rosa today for a 14-year-old boy killed in a crash at a raceway. the family of marcus johnson owns this muffler shop in santa rosa. friends bringing flowers and candles and balloons to the front door leaving messages of support for the family.

he was killed saturday night when a car on the the raceway lost control and slammed into the pit crew. the car was driven by his 17-year-old cousin, chase johnson. >> this is a total tragedy. it really is. it hits the hard really bad. >> sad this happens. it's a risk we take when we go racing. >> a 68-year-old man was also killed in this crash. the driver, chase johnson, he's from the petaluma area, he was not hurt. in another sad event, a motorcycle rider was killed last night in a multi-car crash on interstate 680 near walnut creek. this all happened about 6:00 p.m. a total of four vehicles involved in the crash including that motorcycle. you can see there a nissan 350 z burst into flames after the collision. details of what happened do remain unclear at this hour but

a witness says the motorcycle and another car were driving recklessly before the crash. investigators from chp urging anybody who saw this crash to contact them directly. a shop out of business for a while now after a pickup truck crashes right through the front door. that collision happening yesterday afternoon at the thrift center store on sonoma boulevard. firefighters say there were more than 40 people inside that store when the truck barreled right through the doors and into a checkout stand. four people, including the driver, they were hurt. three of them had to be rushed to the hospital. investigators right now still trying to figure out how the driver ended up losing control of the truck. >> releasing a sketch of a man wanted for kidnapping. take a look. investigators say last friday afternoon the man tried to kidnap a 12-year-old girl as she was walking home from school. the suspect offered her a ride. when she refused, he grabbed her. the girl was able to escape and

run home. police say the suspect was a white man in his 20s, about 6 feet tall with a thin build. he was seen driving a silver four-door vehicle. higher standards may be put in place for drop-in daycare centers in california. a bill introduced last week wants to ensure children are properly cared for. the bill requires facilities to be licensed and also have health and safety regulations in place. it will also require at least one staff member to be trained in pediatric aid and cpr. staff over the age of 18 muff background checks and no more than 15 children to each care provider. oakland police department working on a new way to help fight crime. the department today talking about a plan to redistrict, switching from the current format of two police districts just to one, made up of five smaller districts. the first would be in east oakland. should be in place by saturday. each district would then be

managed by two separate police captains who would be responsible for community outreach and officer deployment. they would ultimately report to the chief. the department feels this the best way to deal with crime, especially considering its limited number of officers. on friday the faa will let us know which airport control towers will close. there could be some bay area names on this list. the closures are in response to the sequester cuts by the federal government which slashed about $600 million from the faa. the affected towers will be at airports with fewer than 150,000 flights or 10,000 commercial operations per year. control towers in napa, concord, livermore, stockton and santa rosa are all on the list of possible closures. it is the eternal quest. now palo alto city council looking for a solution to the city's parking problem. residents say it's reached a saturation point and things are about to get worse as the new

downtown development continues. according to enforcement, the palo alto city council will look at additional proposal, including permits at city garages. they will consider a valet program at another garage putting parking restrictions in residential neighborhoods and building a brand-new parking structure. >> i had lunch in palo alto, come to think of it, on friday. we were able to sit outside. today we can do that but probably not tomorrow. >> lucky you. her and zuckerberg, right? >> roll with it. >> we have a good day shaping up. marla is right, rain coming in. outdoor lunch plans on the water, much better conditions. a live look over san francisco. the bay bridge there. conditions on the bay glassy but those won't last as winds pick up ahead of the storm system. it doesn't move in until the second half of tomorrow. that's when we hold off on

showers. 55 for today in livermore to start. we're still pretty cold out there. you'll need your coat for the next couple of hours except in sunnyvale. good air quality. hold onto that all week long with rain in the forecast. that will help with pollen in the forecast. expecting 6500 feet, maybe a foot of fresh powder. depends where this system ends up, where it lasts. some different things making this forecast tricky. we'll talk about that coming up. >> as you point out, the rain is good. we need that. >> we're lacking at this point so we need it. >> thank you. still ahead at 11:00, vice president joe biden lands in rome where he and hundreds of thousands of others will attend pope francis's inauguration. we'll take you to the preparations in vatican city. we'll also show you why experts say sarah palin stole the show at the cpac convention in maryland, get her big gulp on

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the vice president joe biden is joining leaders from around the world traveling to rome on the eve of the inaugural mass for newly elected pope francis. however, there is controversy over who is attending. nbc's jay gray has details from rome. >> reporter: working through the rain, crews in st. peters square, vice president joe biden leads the u.s. contingent as leaders gather for the inauguration of pope francis including argentine president, who had lunch at the vatican today. the two had a contentious relationship whearlier. they did not release details.

zimbabwe president is also in rome for the ceremony. he's been banned from travel in the european union since 2002 after allegations of elections fraud and human rights abuses. he's able to visit the vatican because it's a separate state and not part of the eu. >> while one country may have difficulty with another person or delegation being present, we repeat, we invite no one. we inform. those who wish to come, come and take part in the ceremony. no one is refused. no one is invited. we welcome all who come. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands are expected to come, packing st. peters square, spilling into the streets of rome. 500 priests part of the mass, offering communion, sharing in the historic celebration. jay gray, nbc news, rome. >> thank you very much. closer to home, the republican party issuing a report making an effort to overhaul the party and rehabilitate that image.

over the weekend, leading conservative in washington for the annual cpac convention. nbc's chuck todd reports. >> reporter: sarah palin stole the show at this weekend's cpac convention. playing more the role of entertainer and comedian than serious politician. >> bloomberg is not around, our big gulp is safe. >> her remarks included a direct shot at karl rove. >> the last thick we need is washington, d.c. vetting our candidates. if these experts, who keep losing elections and keep getting rehired and raking in millions, the architect can head on back to -- they can head on back to the great lone star state and put their name on some ballot. >> rove fired back reminding palin of her resume. >> if she can plan primaries

other people can run primaries. if i did run, i would serve out my term. i wouldn't leave. >> jeb bush offered some tough love to his party. >> all too often we're associated with being anti- everything. >> neither bush nor palin scored looking toward the presidential race. it was rand paul and marco rubio. allegedly bribing chinese for information, the justice department received tips from a whistleblower saying they gave tips in exchange for news of the journal owned by news corp., the company recently found guilty of phone hacking and bribery in the uk. a search by the parent company found no evidence to support the accusation and the company claims the informant is acting on behalf of the chinese government to attack the paper.

>> toyota recalling more than 200,000 fj cruisers. toyota exec tissues say the driver and front passenger seat belts can come loose if the door panel around that seat belt retractor is cracked. seat belts on the fj cruiser are designed differently than most cars. they are actually mounted on the suv's rear door. toyota says no injuries so far because of the defect. owners will be notified by mail and repairs will be free of charge. >> monitoring your kids on facebook is just so 2009. researchers so kids have stopped posting on facebook. they are now using instagram and snap to post. many allow them to post without texting limits or being monitored by parents. coaches and other facebook frequenters. some don't require users to have a smartphone and can be activated through devices like ipod touch and kindle fire as long as there is a wireless

connection. >> you want to keep up with the kids, have you to keep up with the time. what about the weather? changing a little on us. >> looking pretty good for now. they like that snapshot because it erases anything they do instantaneously. no record for the parents. just saying, throwing it out for the parents. a good looking day sthapg up. beautiful sky over san jose. you can see we have high clouds, not mid level clouds expecting later on. clouds will increase ahead of the low pressure. bring us showers as we head through late tomorrow and last through wednesday. 56 in san jose, still chilly, 59 in gilroy, 55 in livermore. we're right on track to hit the 70s. this, really good news for allergy sufferers. we have a major cleansing of the atmosphere headed our way with that system of low pressure. that means numbers will dramatically drop. pollen levels will creep down consist anti-through thursday. 70 in livermore. take you to the future cast, show you when the showers will hit your household. bay area micro climate will come

into play. most activity expected in the north bay as per usual. stop the clock on future cast. 4:00 p.m. expecting showers south of the golden gate bridge. not expecting heavy until overnight. moisture will come through. still showers stay north of fremont more on less. not expecting a whole lot of activity south of highway 92. stop that clock on your future cast again at 5:00 a.m. wednesday. count on a rough drive to work. stop it for you at noon. that's when we start to get our first significant rainfall in the south bay. that will continue 5:00 to 9:00. by 9:00 p.m. starting to clear out considerably. so we're not expecting a whole lot of rain in the south bay. nonetheless, we'll take what we can get, deficit in terms of rainfall totals. good news is, clear you out just in time for upcoming weekend. getting into a really comfortable weekend of spring with low- to mid-70s on the way. back to you now, marla and jon. >> bring it on. looking forward to it. thank you, christina. coming up at 11:00, keeping track of your taxi no matter

where it goes. let you know about the new app that let's you tag along with your taxi before you step inside. >> and march madness is here. why st. mary's still has some work to do and why cal bears are staying home. [ man ] we have a go for auto sequence start.

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for 12 months. or ask how to get your choice of a kindle fire hd, sonos play:3 or xbox 360 free with other qualifying internet offers. [ male announcer ] u-verse high speed internet. [ man ] where all systems are go. ♪ soon you could be able to track the exact location of every available taxi driver in san francisco by using your smartphone. the city proposing a new law that would force cabdrivers to submit coordinates as part of a network. anyone that connects passengers with cabs would have to use the network. the proposal is the response to growing popularity of transportation services that are not run by the city, including uber, lift, and side car. as the strike rolls on, the san francisco symphony is

canceling more concerts. part of the ongoing strike between the musicians and management over contract talks. also being canceled, a three-day tour of the east coast, including a performance set for carnegie hall. at this point, there are no plans to reschedule any shows that have been lost since picket lines went up starting last week. if you happened to have purchased tickets for any canceled shows, we're told you can exchange them for an upcoming event or receive a refund. time now for the madness. are you ready? >> i'm mad. >> madness, all together. eight college bbt teams on the way to san jose getting ready to tip off for the big game. >> i'm mad about march madness. >> yes, you are. >> hp pavilion will play host all day thursday. here is the schedule. new mexico veshz st. louis at 11:10 a.m. oregon versus oklahoma state at 1:40. california versus unlv 4:27 and montana versus syracuse at 6:57.

those are some precise times. >> absolutely. always want to make sure you're on time. winners will play in the third round on saturday, hp pavilion. those times announced later on. meanwhile st. mary's playing a game in dayton, ohio, tomorrow night at 6:10 to be precise. they will take on middle tennessee state. >> speaking of tournaments, when we come back, a couple of giants lead their countries into at&t parks in the final round of the world baseball classic. >> you're a big fan of one of those giants. one helped his team get ready for tomorrow. >> he's my angel.

global stage set at at&t park as netherlands takes on dominican republic in the world baseball classic tonight at 6:00. today's winner will appear in

tomorrow's final against puerto rico. >> with team usa out of it, i'm sure you'll be cheering for puerto rico because your guy celebrated against them, celebrated a 3-1 win against japan. thousands of fans coming out to watch puerto rico and support giants outfielder angel pagan, one of the heroes for the puerto rican team. >> i didn't know there were so many puerto ricans, man. i have to tip my hat. there's a lot of puerto ricans here. i have to thank them. for them to come over here and support us means a lot. >> all right. well, the final game in the world baseball classic will be held tuesday night. that is tomorrow. if you still want tickets for tonight's game they are going for as little as five bucks each. go to worldbaseballclassic.com. >> just bring extra money for parking around at&t park. thanks so much for being with us. join us tonight at 5:00, 6:00, and 11:00. have a great day. [ male announcer ] listen to this symphony of flavor:

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instantly get a free bottle of sun drop or sunkist soda. - hey, jack. did you dye your hair? - no. no. - so how was your new year's? - wonderful. my dear friend, the deep-sea explorer bob ballard, brought over a 2,000-year-old amphora of wine from a sunken phoenician trading vessel. [chuckles] the wine turned out to be quite toxic. [coughing] my guests and i spent the stroke of midnight in my garden... vomiting. - oh, my god, sorry. - don't be. the whole night-- the purging, the new year, the vivid hallucinations of astarte-- the phoenician goddess of sex and war-- it all wiped the slate clean. - so...nancy donovan... - what happened before christmas was a mistake. she hasn't contacted me since, so clearly she agrees it's over. - well, that's healthy. a clean break. - exactly. a clean break. so what about you, lemon? is your 2010 off to a good start? - well, i spent new year's eve with my family, which was actually very special.

my cousin randy, this kid from this rural coal mining town, came out to us. and i think old liz lemon had a little something to do with that. randy's gay, everybody! he's gay. i think everyone knew. [elevator dings] - finally! over the break, i forgot what floor i worked on. - six, tracy. - six! i knew it was a character from blossom, but i couldn't find the joey russo button. - hold the door! you guys, i had the most amazing new year's. i met james franco's manager. it was like a fairy tale. - my client, james franco, he's actively looking for a relationship with a human woman to dispel certain unsavory rumors. are you available for a fake romance with a movie star? - does chewing on a sponge trick your brain's hunger center? yes! yes! a million times yes! - so this is some arranged hollywood relationship? - with james franco. can you believe they went to me before ayiiia from the real world: cancun? - i think it's great. the exposure will do wonders for you and tgs. lemon, i want you and jenna to have a meeting